March 14, 2012 — The relationship between the European Union and aspiring member Turkey has been an evolving one. The EU is experiencing serious financial upheaval, whilst Turkey is increasingly emboldened by its growing influence in the Middle East, where the Syrian government is welding a violent crackdown against the opposition.

That relationship will be the topic March 21 at the University of Virginia, where Turkey expert Henry P. Williams will discuss "No Longer the 'Sick Man of Europe': Turkey and the European Union."

Williams opened Turkey's first investment bank and has published articles on Ottoman and Turkish legal reform.

The presentation is part of the Center for International Studies' spring seminar series, "What's Wrong with Europe?"

The series is free and open to the public and refreshments are served. It takes place most Wednesdays at 5 p.m. at One West Range, Hotel A.

On March 28, Herman Schwartz, politics professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, will discuss "Till Debt Do Us Part: Origins and Consequences of the Eurozone Debt Crisis."

— By Jane Kelly